Who from RC should I contact about this issue?

[Beardface]

So when my wife and I went on our cruise last week, we did a 4 night stay at Cabana Bay at Universal Resorts beforehand, which we booked through Royal Caribbean. Included with this was supposed to be transfers from the airport to the hotel, from the hotel to the pier, and from the pier to the airport. Somehow, our information never made it on the list for the people who had this package. We had no transportation to the hotel, and had to pay out of pocket for a taxi (a $45 charge). When we got to the hotel, we were supposed to get a welcome letter, but one never arrived. They said we were supposed to have gotten emailed a bunch of vouchers for all our transportation, which we never got. We had to argue to get our tickets to the park, which were included in the stay. We had to fight to get even the generic information on when we were going to be picked up from the hotel to get to the ship. And once we were off the ship, we were on no list to get to the airport, and only got on a bus due to the lady running the counter realizing we knew what we were talking about and just letting us on.

 

It didn't ruin our vacation, but I can see how it would have done so for someone else. When we booked, and we ran through all this information beforehand with RC Customer Service, we were told that all information would be provided to us when we got to Cabana Bay. This was incorrect, and had we known to look out for the vouchers, we would have been more proactive in this process. When we called up Customer Service the day of our sailing because the transportation was running late, they just told us someone would be there. They never mentioned that our names weren't even on the list of the people needing a ride. We're lucky they brought a van larger than what they actually thought they needed, because otherwise we would have been left behind with no options.

 

All of this was booked through RC was someone dropped the ball. Now, since I already sailed, already took care of my onboard charges, and all that, I don't need or expect any compensation for what we went through, but I do want to make sure someone knows this happened to ensure whatever loop we fell through gets closed, because this was pretty inexcusable. We booked all of this through Royal Caribbean, and yet it seemed like they had no idea. The worst part is that they could see it all on their systems, but somehow that never translated into actually taking care of us.

 

Now, I would prefer not to contact Michael Bayley about this, because I don't think its THAT important, but I do want to make sure it gets taken care of. General Customer Service has been pretty worthless throughout this venture, and considering the additional booking essentially doubled the price of my trip, I think its a big enough loophole to ensure someone looks into it. Any thoughts?

[AustinCruise]

Start at the top. They will direct it to the appropriate place.

 

It does sound as if someone dropped the ball.

[TigerLady]

So when my wife and I went on our cruise last week, we did a 4 night stay at Cabana Bay at Universal Resorts beforehand, which we booked through Royal Caribbean. Included with this was supposed to be transfers from the airport to the hotel, from the hotel to the pier, and from the pier to the airport. Somehow, our information never made it on the list for the people who had this package. We had no transportation to the hotel, and had to pay out of pocket for a taxi (a $45 charge). When we got to the hotel, we were supposed to get a welcome letter, but one never arrived. They said we were supposed to have gotten emailed a bunch of vouchers for all our transportation, which we never got. We had to argue to get our tickets to the park, which were included in the stay. We had to fight to get even the generic information on when we were going to be picked up from the hotel to get to the ship. And once we were off the ship, we were on no list to get to the airport, and only got on a bus due to the lady running the counter realizing we knew what we were talking about and just letting us on.

 

It didn't ruin our vacation, but I can see how it would have done so for someone else. When we booked, and we ran through all this information beforehand with RC Customer Service, we were told that all information would be provided to us when we got to Cabana Bay. This was incorrect, and had we known to look out for the vouchers, we would have been more proactive in this process. When we called up Customer Service the day of our sailing because the transportation was running late, they just told us someone would be there. They never mentioned that our names weren't even on the list of the people needing a ride. We're lucky they brought a van larger than what they actually thought they needed, because otherwise we would have been left behind with no options.

 

All of this was booked through RC was someone dropped the ball. Now, since I already sailed, already took care of my onboard charges, and all that, I don't need or expect any compensation for what we went through, but I do want to make sure someone knows this happened to ensure whatever loop we fell through gets closed, because this was pretty inexcusable. We booked all of this through Royal Caribbean, and yet it seemed like they had no idea. The worst part is that they could see it all on their systems, but somehow that never translated into actually taking care of us.

 

Now, I would prefer not to contact Michael Bayley about this, because I don't think its THAT important, but I do want to make sure it gets taken care of. General Customer Service has been pretty worthless throughout this venture, and considering the additional booking essentially doubled the price of my trip, I think its a big enough loophole to ensure someone looks into it. Any thoughts?

 

The only info I have that may help.

Aurora (Laly) Yera Rodriquez

Director Guest Services

1-954-628-9313 ext 19313

 

Good Luck..

[foxgoodrich]

Wow...First, let me compliment you on your attitude, the way you've chosen to deal with your problem, and that you didn't let it ruin things for you. It's really heartening to know that people can engage in problem solving behaviors rather than tantrums and threats!:D

 

I think that you really do need to make your problem known to the company, because if it happened to you, there's a problem in their system and it will probably happen again. I haven't ever dealt with something like this, so I have no first hand experience. But based on what I've learned from others, I'd call the Customer Service number and ask them to give you the Resolutions Department. I'd talk to them and email them, making sure they have a hard copy description. Hopefully some of the gurus here will have better info than I do on who to contact. Patti? Bob? Carol?

 

I also think you should ask for what's fair and right - reimbursement for the out-of-pocket expenses you paid but shouldn't have had to pay. If you have receipts, hang on to them. If not, create a 'report' of those expenses that includes the date, description of the expense, and the description of what should have been covered by the package deal you bought.

 

You said you don't want to take your issue to Michael Bayley, and I understand your thinking, but you may need to go that far. Start with Resolutions, but do continue to the top if you don't get a resolution that's fair. Since you booked your pre-cruise package through Royal, it's basically like a Cruise Tour or an Excursion. As customers we have every right to expect to receive what we've paid for. Royal is a company selling a product, and if a customer doesn't receive the right product, they need to fix it. Customer service matters and they know that at the top. Good luck, and please come back and let us know what happens.

Judy

Edited March 11, 2016 by foxgoodrich

[cruisinfanatic]

So when my wife and I went on our cruise last week, we did a 4 night stay at Cabana Bay at Universal Resorts beforehand, which we booked through Royal Caribbean. Included with this was supposed to be transfers from the airport to the hotel, from the hotel to the pier, and from the pier to the airport. Somehow, our information never made it on the list for the people who had this package. We had no transportation to the hotel, and had to pay out of pocket for a taxi (a $45 charge). When we got to the hotel, we were supposed to get a welcome letter, but one never arrived. They said we were supposed to have gotten emailed a bunch of vouchers for all our transportation, which we never got. We had to argue to get our tickets to the park, which were included in the stay. We had to fight to get even the generic information on when we were going to be picked up from the hotel to get to the ship. And once we were off the ship, we were on no list to get to the airport, and only got on a bus due to the lady running the counter realizing we knew what we were talking about and just letting us on.

 

It didn't ruin our vacation, but I can see how it would have done so for someone else. When we booked, and we ran through all this information beforehand with RC Customer Service, we were told that all information would be provided to us when we got to Cabana Bay. This was incorrect, and had we known to look out for the vouchers, we would have been more proactive in this process. When we called up Customer Service the day of our sailing because the transportation was running late, they just told us someone would be there. They never mentioned that our names weren't even on the list of the people needing a ride. We're lucky they brought a van larger than what they actually thought they needed, because otherwise we would have been left behind with no options.

 

All of this was booked through RC was someone dropped the ball. Now, since I already sailed, already took care of my onboard charges, and all that, I don't need or expect any compensation for what we went through, but I do want to make sure someone knows this happened to ensure whatever loop we fell through gets closed, because this was pretty inexcusable. We booked all of this through Royal Caribbean, and yet it seemed like they had no idea. The worst part is that they could see it all on their systems, but somehow that never translated into actually taking care of us.

 

Now, I would prefer not to contact Michael Bayley about this, because I don't think its THAT important, but I do want to make sure it gets taken care of. General Customer Service has been pretty worthless throughout this venture, and considering the additional booking essentially doubled the price of my trip, I think its a big enough loophole to ensure someone looks into it. Any thoughts?

Transfers etc are often included in your cruise documents. That long 18 or so page thing that people rarely read or print

[Missus Makkem]

Transfers etc are often included in your cruise documents. That long 18 or so page thing that people rarely read or print

 

But the OP was not on the transfer lists that the vans coming to the hotel had.

[Beardface]

But the OP was not on the transfer lists that the vans coming to the hotel had.

 

Nor the transfer from the ship to the airport after the fact, of which we know for a fact there were others who had booked a stay at Universal as well, because the woman manning the counter originally thought we were the ones they were waiting on before validating our names. And I read through all my cruise docs a month before sailing when they were issued, and printed out all the fine print pages that I just didn't bother to read. Trust me, there were no vouchers included. In fact, I was explicitly told after the fact by staff members at both Cabana Bay and on board the Freedom that the vouchers were supposed to be emailed to me, and not necessarily in those cruise docs.

 

And thanks for the suggestions. I'd prefer not to send an email to the top, but as we all said, somehow the ball was dropped, and RC needs to know about it to fix. From experience on this trip, I know calling up regular Guest Relations isn't really going to do anything, because those reps just don't/won't understand the issue well enough to know to get it fixed, so maybe I'll send it to the top hoping it gets redirected to those who can ensure it doesn't happen to someone else.

[StolidCruiser]

Thanks for the reminder to always get written confirmation of vital travel details and to never rely on a verbal "just show up... it will all be waiting for you... I promise!".

[cruisenfever]

Included with this was supposed to be transfers from the airport to the hotel, from the hotel to the pier, and from the pier to the airport.

I'm surprised that they indicated you would have transfers from airport to hotel. Our experience has been that anytime we've done a hotel package with RCI, we have always had to get from the airport to the hotel on our own, but the transfers were there from hotel to ship and then ship to airport.

[Beardface]

I'm surprised that they indicated you would have transfers from airport to hotel. Our experience has been that anytime we've done a hotel package with RCI, we have always had to get from the airport to the hotel on our own, but the transfers were there from hotel to ship and then ship to airport.

 

I checked twice on that before flying down and both the people at the hotel and the Guest Relations staff on the Freedom verified it should have been covered. I guess because its with the Resort, there should have been someone associated with the Resort there to take us over.

[foxgoodrich]

I checked twice on that before flying down and both the people at the hotel and the Guest Relations staff on the Freedom verified it should have been covered. I guess because its with the Resort, there should have been someone associated with the Resort there to take us over.

 

Somebody here on the CC boards speculated awhile back that Royal seems to be trying to "Disneyfy" a bit. Such innovations as Wow Bands (like Disney's Magic Bands) are obvious, Dynamic Dining is similar to the 3 restaurant rotation on Disney, and Disney also does comprehensive pre-cruise packages (like the one you bought from Royal) that include shuttle transportation on both ends, tickets, optional meals, etc. These things only work when the attention to detail is there after the sale of a package and the customer is given the proper documentation (or proper magic band!). Disney has it mastered, but Royal needs to "Disneyfy" some (or maybe lots) of their employees and do a better job of coordination if they want these things to work right. The left hand needs to know what the right hand sold the customer.

Judy

Edited March 11, 2016 by foxgoodrich

[maryjaden]

Thank you for posting this information. We are looking at doing this same tour with Royal and Universal and now we will know what to look for.

[mollyeilis]

So you booked through this? http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentSitelet.do?pagename=universal_main

 

 

I have yet to find anyone who actually booked it. Interesting how poorly it went. We have annual passes and tend to find great rates on our own, so we haven't done that sort of booking.

 

If it's not worth the top guy reading, he'll send it down to his, um, minions. They need to figure out how to do this properly.

[DM_KidAtHeart]

So you booked through this? http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentSitelet.do?pagename=universal_main

 

 

I have yet to find anyone who actually booked it. Interesting how poorly it went. We have annual passes and tend to find great rates on our own, so we haven't done that sort of booking.

 

If it's not worth the top guy reading, he'll send it down to his, um, minions. They need to figure out how to do this properly.

 

 

Oooooo. I wanna do this.

[matj2000]

Never book anything outside of a cruise from RC.

 

Hotels, Park Tickets. Transfers, etc, are not what they do......

[Beardface]

So you booked through this? http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentSitelet.do?pagename=universal_main

 

 

I have yet to find anyone who actually booked it. Interesting how poorly it went. We have annual passes and tend to find great rates on our own, so we haven't done that sort of booking.

 

If it's not worth the top guy reading, he'll send it down to his, um, minions. They need to figure out how to do this properly.

 

Yep that's what we booked. Don't get me wrong, eventually we got everything worked out and it still ended up being a great trip and experience but the seeming lack of knowledge from anyone about our scenario, especially RCCL, whom we booked everything through, caused more than a little stress throughout.